Key takeaways
- AWS features four AI certifications that help professionals validate their skills and command up to 47% higher salaries in IT roles.
- The certifications range from foundational knowledge for non-technical roles to professional expertise for experienced AI developers.
- Free and low-cost training resources are available through AWS Skill Builder to help prepare for certification exams.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is introducing a new generative AI developer certification, expanding its portfolio for professionals seeking to develop their cloud engineering skills. The new credential joins AWS's existing certifications as demand for qualified AI talent surges across industries, with organizations seeking employees who can implement and manage effective AI solutions.
Building on the success of AWS Certified AI Practitioner, AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate, and AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate certifications, AWS is debuting the new AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional certification, which helps organizations identify advanced technical talent capable of delivering business outcomes with generative AI. You can register for the beta exam of this new professional-level certification on November 18.
AI will transform the way people work across multiple roles. According to a study commissioned by AWS, organizations are willing to pay a premium for professionals with AI skills. This includes salaries that are up to 47% higher for IT workers, 43% higher for those in sales and marketing, and 42% higher for those in finance, among other fields.
We are seeing a lack of expertise to help deploy, maintain, monitor models. An AWS certification that covers these skills would carry value to me as a hiring manager, and I would make this a requirement for my team.
AWS Partner
Whether you’re a student beginning to explore a career in AI, a professional in a business role with a solid grasp of AI concepts, or an ML specialist operationalizing AI models, AWS’s new certifications can help you prove that you’re well positioned to innovate in your field.
AWS Certified AI Practitioner is a foundational-level certification. It is designed for people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to showcase their understanding of AI and generative AI concepts, their ability to recognize opportunities that benefit from AI, and their knowledge on using AI tools responsibly.
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate is designed for individuals with at least one year of experience building, deploying, and maintaining AI and ML solutions on AWS. It is beneficial for people who want to demonstrate their ability to make AI models available for real-time use.
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate validates the ability to design and implement the data foundations that power AI and ML solutions on AWS. This certification is designed for professionals with at least one year of experience working with AWS data services, focusing on the critical data infrastructure that enables AI implementations. It validates expertise in data modeling, pipeline orchestration, and quality management—essential skills for building the robust data foundations that successful AI/ML solutions require.
AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional validates the ability to design, build, and deploy production-ready generative AI applications on AWS. It is designed for experienced developers implementing enterprise generative AI solutions. The certification validates crucial skills including foundation model selection, vector database integration, prompt engineering, and cost optimization techniques for delivering scalable, secure, and responsible AI solutions.
Here's a closer look at AWS's AI certifications:
AWS Certified AI Practitioner
Showcase your understanding of AI/ML concepts and AI technologies.
Organizations recognize that taking advantage of AI and generative AI will require a broader skill set beyond programming. This includes professionals in marketing, sales, project and product management, HR, finance, accounting, and beyond. By earning this certification, non-IT professionals can feel greater confidence when identifying opportunities that are well-suited to AI, or when collaborating with technical teams. IT professionals with limited exposure to AI/ML and generative AI can make informed decisions while leveraging their core skills when building or managing AI solutions.
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate
Demonstrate your skills with scaling, deploying, and maintaining AI models.
Scaling AI models for real-time usage allows businesses to serve more users or achieve accurate results. This requires proficiency in ML engineering that covers aspects like optimizing model performance, managing computational resources efficiently, updating model versions seamlessly, and securing an AI solution. This certification validates an individual’s skills in developing, deploying, maintaining, and monitoring AI, ML, and generative AI solutions. These are essential skills to influence business objectives like serving millions of users daily, reducing costs of building AI models, faster response time, and rapid model training.
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
Demonstrate your expertise in building and managing the data foundations that power AI/ML solutions.
As organizations increasingly rely on AI and ML technologies, the demand for skilled data engineers who can build and maintain robust data infrastructures continues to grow. This certification validates expertise in critical areas like data modeling, pipeline orchestration, and quality management—foundational skills that directly impact AI/ML success. Data engineers who earn this certification demonstrate their ability to design scalable data architectures, implement efficient data pipelines, and ensure data quality while optimizing costs. These skills are essential for organizations looking to build reliable AI/ML solutions, accelerate model development, and derive meaningful insights from their data. The certification helps technical leaders identify professionals who can create and maintain the data infrastructure necessary for successful AI/ML implementations and business outcomes.
AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional
Demonstrate advanced skills in building and deploying enterprise-grade generative AI solutions.
As organizations rapidly adopt generative AI technologies, the demand for developers who can deliver production-ready solutions continues to grow. This certification validates expertise in crucial areas like foundation model integration, vector database implementation, and sophisticated prompt engineering systems. Professional developers who earn this certification demonstrate their ability to architect scalable generative AI applications that optimize costs while maintaining security and reliability. These skills are essential for organizations looking to transform customer experiences, automate complex workflows, and drive innovation through generative AI technologies. The certification helps technical leaders identify professionals capable of implementing enterprise-wide generative AI solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes.
Free and low-cost training programs to prepare for certifications
AWS offers multiple paths to help you build and validate your AI skills through our digital learning center, AWS Skill Builder.
For those pursuing the AWS Certified AI Practitioner certification, a complete exam preparation plan is available. Candidates can also refresh their AWS knowledge and skills by enrolling in the AWS Artificial Intelligence Practitioner Learning Plan, which has essential courses like Fundamentals of Machine Learning and AI, Exploring AI Use Cases and Applications, and Essentials of Prompt Engineering. The courses help learners gain critical skills including foundation model selection, prompt engineering fundamentals, and real-world AI implementation.
Similarly, candidates for the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate certification can access a comprehensive exam preparation plan on AWS Skill Builder. Candidates can also refresh their AWS knowledge and skills by enrolling in the AWS ML Engineer Associate Learning Plan, which has essential courses that thoroughly cover data transformation techniques, feature engineering, bias mitigation strategies, and data security best practices.
For the AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional certification, exam preparation resources will be available on November 18, 2025. In the meantime, candidates can either pursue the AWS Certified AI Practitioner or AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate certification.
To prepare for any of these certifications, learners can access more than 135 free and low-cost courses and learning resources on AI, ML, and generative AI through AWS Skill Builder and AWS Educate, AWS’s digital learning centers for learners of varying backgrounds and experiences. These resources are designed with customizable learning paths to meet individual goals and learning styles.
Visit AWS Skill Builder today to begin your certification journey and gain the AI expertise that can transform your career.
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